PARIS -- Looking to bounce back from the humiliation of last years wooden spoon, France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has made the

PARIS -- Looking to bounce back from the humiliation of last years wooden spoon, France coach Philippe Saint-Andre has made the risky move of choosing an untried halves pairing for Saturdays opening Six Nations match against England. Nike Air Max 270 Flyknit Sale . Announcing his team Thursday, Saint-Andre went for scrumhalf Jules Plisson alongside flyhalf Jean-Marc Doussain. Both are 22 years old, and Plisson makes his international debut while Doussain has played only five times for France. He also picked lock Alexandre Flanquart -- who has won only two international caps -- to play alongside Pascal Pape in the second row. "Jules has a lot of variety in his game, he had to start one day," Saint-Andre said. "Jules is fully focused. Everything will be easier for him if his teammates make an impact going forward, if the forwards win their battles. So its up to our pack to make things easier for our halves pairing, which is young and talented." Saint-Andre will give the kicking duties to Doussain, adding that Flanquarts selection is a strategic one because of his understanding with Pape, his Stade Francais teammate, and his ability to counter England in the lineouts. More surprisingly still, is that Saint-Andre has left out flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc from his squad, even though Trinh-Duc was arguably Frances best player in the corresponding fixture last year. France looked good for a win at Twickenham last year, leading 10-9 at the interval before being overpowered and losing 23-13 with Trinh-Duc taken off early into the second half. Wesley Fofana and Mathieu Bastareaud give France a powerful midfield in what is expected to be a physical battle at Stade de France. But the deciding factor is once again likely to be who comes out on top in the forwards. "We know from experience that the English have a powerful scrum. We know what to expect. Every time Ive played against them the scrum has always been a big combat zone," said veteran prop Nicolas Mas, who is set to win his 66th cap. "Last year we took them on well in the forwards, and we even thought we could win at Twickenham because we unsettled them so much." Englands young squad is growing in self-belief and experience under Stuart Lancaster and will want to make amends for a 30-3 defeat to Wales last year that cost the title and a Grand Slam. "We had one day in Cardiff when it didnt go as we would have wanted, but since then the focus has been on us improving," lock Joe Launchbury said. "Hopefully we showed where we are in the autumn and well continue to do that." While France has injury problems -- inspirational captain Thierry Dusautoir and flyhalf Remi Tales are both out injured, while prolific winger Vincent Clerc is still lacking full fitness after a long-term knee injury -- England has selection problems. Lancaster pleaded with flyhalf Toby Flood to stay home for club and country, but had to axe him from his squad because Flood, with 60 caps has decided to leave English champion Leicester, which he captains, for Toulouse after the season. The uncapped George Ford replaces him in the squad, while Lancaster handed debuts to outside centre Luther Burrell and wing Jack Nowell for Saturdays game. Burrell has impressed throughout the season for Northampton, and starts ahead of Brad Barritt. Nowell has benefited from injuries to Marland Yarde and Christian Wade to seize the right wing spot from the axed Chris Ashton. France is favourite to win the battle of the forwards, however, with a front five that can mix it with the worlds best on their day, and England are braced to withstand an early onslaught in the scrum. "Id say weve removed any lingering doubt over our physicality, but the question will continue to be asked," Launchbury said. "We went to Argentina and played well there. We had three tough autumn matches and I dont think anyone could say we lacked bite in those matches." -- France: Brice Dulin, Yoann Huget, Mathieu Bastareaud, Wesley Fofana, Maxime Medard, Jules Plisson, Jean-Marc Doussain; Louis Picamoles, Bernard Le Roux, Yannick Nyanga, Pascal Pape, Alexandre Flanquart, Nicolas Mas, Benjamin Kayser, Thomas Domingo.Reserves: Dimitri Szarzewksi, Yannick Forestier, Rabah Slimani, Yoann Maestri, Antoine Burban, Damien Chouly, Maxime Machenaud, Gael Fickou. England: Mike Brown, Jack Nowell, Luther Burrell, Billy Twelvetrees, Jonny May, Owen Farrell, Danny Care; Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw (captain), Billy Vunipola.Reserves: Tom Youngs, Mako Vunipola, Henry Thomas, Dave Attwood, Ben Morgan, Lee Dickson, Brad Barritt, Alex Goode. Nike Air Max 270 React Electro Green . Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. Cheap Nike Air Max 270 . According to Yahoo! Sports, the team has reached a five-year deal to play their home games on the roof of the Plaza Hotel and Casino. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-just-do-it-sale.html . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug.NEW YORK -- Washington Redskins safety Brandon Meriweathers two-game suspension from the NFL for multiple helmet-to-helmet hits was cut in half Wednesday on appeal. Two days after Meriweather was told he would miss time for repeated violations of player safety rules, hearing officer Ted Cottrell reduced the punishment to one game. Cottrell was jointly appointed by the league and the players union. Meriweathers suspension by NFL vice-president of football operations Merton Hanks came for repeated hits to the head and neck area of defenceless players, including two in Washingtons 45-41 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Meriweather was flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit when tackling receiver Alshon Jeffery on a 28-yard completion with about two minutes left in the third quarter. He also was penalized for a helmet-first hit on Brandon Marshall in the end zone on an incomplete pass with a little more than four minutes remaining in the game. "All of these officials, if theyre going to make a mistake, they want to protect the player, so if its anywhere close to being a helmet-to-helmet, they are throwing a 15-yard flag, and thats what theyre being told to do. If you get anywhere around that head, youve got a chance to hurt your football team," Washington coach Mike Shanahan said Wednesday in Ashburn, Va. "Were constantly emphasizing it, but its tough in the heat of battle for these guys. Youre very competitive. You want to get after them. Then all of a sudden, a guy might duck at the last second, and all of a sudden you have helmet-to-helmet, and they dont even look at intent." In Week 2, Meriweather was fined $42,000 for a helmet-first hit on Green Bay running back Eddie Lacy, forcing Lacy out of the game with a concussion. Nike Air Max 270 React Discount. Later that same day, another helmet-first hit gave Meriweather himself a concussion, knocking him out of the game. Meriweather will lose about $70,000 in salary when he sits out Sundays game at the Denver Broncos. He is not allowed to participate in any football activities with the team during the suspension. "Its unfortunate that the league felt like it needed to suspend him," Redskins linebacker London Fletcher said. "If a receiver sees you and he ducks, sometimes youre going to hit the guy, and the intent was to not even hit the guy, so thats the tough position defenders are in. ... A lot of times you cant avoid the situation." The suspension could leave the Redskins without their two starting safeties when they face Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Strong safety Reed Doughty got a concussion when the Bears attempted an onside kick in the fourth quarter. Meriweather said after last weekends game that he thought both hits against the Bears were legal. He said hes tried to change his game to suit the NFLs tackling rules. "I wasnt trying to be dirty. I wasnt trying to hurt nobody," he said. "I didnt lead with my -- didnt launch with my -- head. I used my shoulder like they told me to do." Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson said Wednesday: "You just got to adjust. I feel like he is. Hes trying to be a better player. But sometimes its hard to lose that reputation in the end." ' ' '